Hey All,
Well the big news has come and I am getting transferred! I am going to Cannock! Cannock is the largest of three towns in the District of Cannock Chase in the central southern part of the county of Staffordshire in the West Midlands region of England. It is above Birmingham, not to far from the Mission Home. So it will be fun to head up north again. I have enjoyed my time in Worcester and the people that I have met. But it is time for change and time to move on. I will be serving with Elder Bass, from Utah.
The other big news is that I finally got a new bike on Saturday. The lady that hit me tried to get me to go to a store like Halford's with is like Walmart in the States. I said, no because it was so far away. She said it will not be that far, I can drive you. I was thinking um no! I am not getting in a car with you! So we came to the agreement of going to a place right next to my flat. I am now the proud owner of another Specialized bike. And made a pretty good dent in the women's pocket book. But during the past few weeks that I have been without a bike, I borrowed a bike from a member that was not good at all. I felt like I was riding my little brother's bike, so I rode it only when I had to. It is nice to not have to worry about having to come back to Worcester and get this mess settled because I have been transferred. The funny thing that happened is after she bought the bike she had me signed some papers saying I would not tell her insurance about the whole incident. So with the instruction from my Mission President, I signed the papers. After I signed she looked at me and said, "Elder Nielsen, anything else"? I said, "no, hope you have a good life and don't hit anyone else".
Later in the week my companion and I were street contacting people at our usual spot that we have been on since I have been in Worcester and a guy came up to my companion and said, "this is private property and you need to get off". So my companion starts to leave and the guy then comes up to me and tells me the same thing. He interrupted my conversation with a lady who was semi interested in who we are and what we stand for. So I turned to him and said thanks when I am finished visiting, I will be glad to leave and kept talking. I hope that we at least planted a seed to this stranger and that the next set of Missionaries will seek and find this gal.
Saturday we where at a dinner appointment and the next thing I know the sister comes up to me and says, "Elder Nielsen, can I talk to you for a minuet". I was like okay. "Can you play the piano on Sunday". I said sure. The problem was that the music chair picked some hymns that no one really knows and this sister had never heard these before and was feeling a bit uncomfortable. I only knew 2 out of the 4 hymns. So the whole night this sister kept asking me if I would practice the hymns at their house while we were there so she could get to know them. Sunday came and it turned out pretty well. The Spirit really blesses us when we prepare no matter what it is. I have found that if I prepare that the Lord will bless me with just a little bit more than I thought I could do.
The other days of the week were filled with signing lessons, contacting and meetings. It has been a great week and a great few months in Worcester with many ups and downs of Missionary work. I have learned a lot about relying on the Spirit, prayer and trusting in the Lord. May the Lord bless you all. Thanks for all the emails, I really appreciate them.
Love, Elder Nielsen
Showing posts with label Worcester. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Worcester. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
"The tower of all strength which stands four square to all winds that blow"
Hey all,
It has been another week of contacting and finding those that we can plant the seed of happiness. Elder Doty and I have one new investigator and he is from the Philippines. He is pretty cool and way funny. He has been telling us about how he failed his drivers test because in the Philippines they don't use their brakes they use their horn instead. Swerving in and out of traffic and pedestrians. This made me a little nervous since my recent events with a car. I told him that I secretly hoped that he does not get his license soon. Ha Ha
Signing lessons have started back up since our holiday break. I had the opportunity to translate all meetings on Sunday since I was not needed to play the piano. So it was time to get back into the swing of the new year. I can honestly say that it has been about a month since I have really signed seriously. My mom had asked if I would use this skill in other Areas of my Mission here in England and I am not sure. I guess the Lord will direct me in that direction when the time comes for transfers again. A cool thing happened though, my companion, Elder Doty stopped a lady as I was talking to someone else on the street while I was talking to someone else. I could see him pointing to me and motioning for me to come over and visit with them. So I went as quickly as I could and the lady he stopped was deaf. Elder Doty just looked at me like get those hands moving and talk to her. So I started to sign. We had a good conversation but nothing really came of it, but it was cool to use my new skill of sign language in more than just at Church and what not.
The rest of this week we have just been finding people to teach and running to meetings. The Bishop of our Ward asked us to hold a Young Single Adult activity and invite people to attend. So we did. We played ping pong, basketball, and every ones favorite Uno. It was fun we had about 15 people there and it seemed that they all had a great time. Then Saturday we did more service for the family that I know from Kidderminster, my first Area, who are moving to Worcester. It was fun we just moved some big furniture around and such.
I heard a quote from Tennyson, "The tower of all strength which stands four square to all winds that blow". I have been thinking about this lately as I have been reading and studying. The four areas that are suggested are mental, physical, social, and spiritual. I have been working and doing well at three out of the four but it is getting that balance right. Some weeks it is the physical part others it is the spiritual part. But I have found that when I focus on building each area it really helps. I have found that if one goes or is out of balance they all are out of balance.
So on that note, I will leave you all with a testimony of the knowledge of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He is the tower of all strength. I know this to be true!
Have a great week!
Elder Nielsen
It has been another week of contacting and finding those that we can plant the seed of happiness. Elder Doty and I have one new investigator and he is from the Philippines. He is pretty cool and way funny. He has been telling us about how he failed his drivers test because in the Philippines they don't use their brakes they use their horn instead. Swerving in and out of traffic and pedestrians. This made me a little nervous since my recent events with a car. I told him that I secretly hoped that he does not get his license soon. Ha Ha
Signing lessons have started back up since our holiday break. I had the opportunity to translate all meetings on Sunday since I was not needed to play the piano. So it was time to get back into the swing of the new year. I can honestly say that it has been about a month since I have really signed seriously. My mom had asked if I would use this skill in other Areas of my Mission here in England and I am not sure. I guess the Lord will direct me in that direction when the time comes for transfers again. A cool thing happened though, my companion, Elder Doty stopped a lady as I was talking to someone else on the street while I was talking to someone else. I could see him pointing to me and motioning for me to come over and visit with them. So I went as quickly as I could and the lady he stopped was deaf. Elder Doty just looked at me like get those hands moving and talk to her. So I started to sign. We had a good conversation but nothing really came of it, but it was cool to use my new skill of sign language in more than just at Church and what not.
The rest of this week we have just been finding people to teach and running to meetings. The Bishop of our Ward asked us to hold a Young Single Adult activity and invite people to attend. So we did. We played ping pong, basketball, and every ones favorite Uno. It was fun we had about 15 people there and it seemed that they all had a great time. Then Saturday we did more service for the family that I know from Kidderminster, my first Area, who are moving to Worcester. It was fun we just moved some big furniture around and such.
I heard a quote from Tennyson, "The tower of all strength which stands four square to all winds that blow". I have been thinking about this lately as I have been reading and studying. The four areas that are suggested are mental, physical, social, and spiritual. I have been working and doing well at three out of the four but it is getting that balance right. Some weeks it is the physical part others it is the spiritual part. But I have found that when I focus on building each area it really helps. I have found that if one goes or is out of balance they all are out of balance.
So on that note, I will leave you all with a testimony of the knowledge of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He is the tower of all strength. I know this to be true!
Have a great week!
Elder Nielsen
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Learning from past General Conferences
This week has been a pretty normal week. As I mentioned last week and the photos that were attached, we have been flooded most of the week. So we have had to find alternate paths to get places. The only thing that was different and exciting is that this week we had to take our shoes and socks off and roll up our pants to wade through the flooded paths to get to Church on time.
We have pretty much just been doing finding and trying to restart the new year. The people here in England have the post holiday blues. They are hitting the reality that they have to go back to work. So people have been pretty negative about everything including talking to us on the street or letting us in. We have hit the rainy season though and it has rained every day this week. I feel like a drowned rat, but other than that nothing really happened. Hopefully things will look up as life starts to get back into a routine. On Monday we hiked the Malvern Hills with another set of Missionaries in our Area and their investigators. Pictures to follow.
I am still well physically, mentally still a little bit shook up from my bicycle accident. I have lost my aggressive bike riding which you need here in Worcester. We were at the round about a few nights ago coming back from a meeting and I froze at the entrance that I got hit at when a car was there. No bike yet, I am using another Missionaries until I get another one. The first ride wasn't bad just a little slower than usual. The lady who hit me is complicating everything so I have no idea when a new bike will come. I was told that if she wants me to sign a paper or anything I had to send it the Mission President. Then he will send it to the Church Lawyers to have them look at it. So I am letting President deal with it.
New Years eve we were required to be in the flat at 6 pm. So it was pretty boring. We cleaned, threw the ball against the wall, listened to music, and ate. That's about all we could do.
I recently read a talk by Carlos Amado from the October 1993 General Conference An Eternal Vision. His talk is about being a servant and doing service. "Servant and service are common words in the restored church. Someone said, “The one who doesn’t live to serve doesn’t serve to live”—wise words which are applied to each priesthood holder. Another word to describe the priesthood is service; literally, every man who receives the priesthood is “called to serve.” He also talks about a mission being very hard. He is right, it is hard. It is not just contacting people that you don't know but the adjustment of living with others in another country. I think that the best way for us to learn about serving a Mission is to serve. I don't think anyone could have told me how hard a Mission was going to be. I have had to find that out for myself and I have found that each Mission is specifically for the person who is on it. The trials that I go through may not be the same as someone else. I think we truly don't understand what our duties are and how we will respond until the time comes to fly the nest and use the priesthood that we have been given. That's when I started to understand. I have enjoyed reading and studying talks from past General Conferences. I am currently reading from the October 1971 General Conference. I had no idea that it was a three day Conference. It has been good. Take a look and see what topic catches your eye.
Well, that is about it for this week. I hope that all is well with you and yours. I have a testimony of this Gospel and of our Savior Jesus Christ.
Love, Elder Nielsen
 |
| Malvern Hills, one of the Elders |
 |
| Investigators and Elder |
 |
| View from Malvern Hills, England |
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Miracles
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,
I hope you all have had a great holiday season. It was a crazy week the week of Christmas so a blog post did not get done. Elder Doty and I have been busy teaching and getting ready for the many travels of the Christmas week and of course setting up Skype times at members homes with our families on Christmas Day. I guess the biggest news and miracle would be that on Sunday, December 22, 2013 I was hit by a car coming home from Church. My companion and I were in a round about when a woman going about 15 to 20 T-boned me. I flew onto the hood of her car and into the windshield and then onto the ground. All I can remember is thinking "this is going to hurt". The Lord has watched over me and after laying on the ground testing all my bones and joints, I got up and started to walk. The Paramedics came as well as the Police and put me in the back of the Ambulance and did an extensive exam. The Paramedics could not believe that there was not one broken bone or cut other than my rain jacket is torn up, on my whole body. The Miracle is that I walked away with no visible injuries other than a torn coat and a very damaged bicycle and of course my pride has been hurt. Since the accident was the fault of the driver, I was given the option of sending the woman to jail or just get what I can for a new bicycle, helmet and jacket. Apparently, in England if you are a foreigner, this gal is from Poland, you can have your drivers license taken away for any accident and you can also be deported. The Mission President and I have decided that it seemed pretty harsh to send her to jail and we are working out the legal issues of getting my bike and other stuff replaced by her insurance company. The first few days afterward my body was pretty sore but I have no brusing to date.
The other great news is that I got to Skype with my family on Christmas! It was great to visit with them for a while. I am sure that my mom was glad to see that there really were not any broken bones, etc. My Companion and I went to midnight Mass on Christmas Eve night which was a great experience and then Christmas Day was spent with some members in our Ward. They fed us and made us feel welcome. We just had fun at members houses all week pretty much with some meeting thrown in there. Another great thing we did was service for some members in our Area. Of course it has been raining and so we were soaked by the time we were finished.
But in England they have Christmas Crackers. Which you and another person pull and whoever has the bigger half gets the prize in the middle. They are pretty fun. They have like dollar store prizes so nothing really worth keeping. The one problem is that as soon as you pull it and win you have to wear the paper crown that comes with it. You look pretty ridiculous that's for sure.
Christmas in England was fun and a memorable one. It was really cool to focus on the Savior more and not all the "tradition" that comes with Christmas. The cool thing that we have talked about was new years goals. And how it is great to have a goal but it is just a wish if we do not plan to do anything about it. In Sacrament Meeting someone spoke on the goals. He Google new year goals and the first one was lose weight. He then said that by the end of January most people stop or quit their goal. If we don't plan we don't finish.
One thing that I have learned on my Mission is how to set goals and make plans to achieve goals. As Steinbeck quoted, "The best laid schemes of mice and men/Often go awry". If we don't plan and prepare and follow through we will not make it to our end goal of Eternal Life.
I hope that you all have goals in mind for this new year and to know our Savior Jesus Christ is part of that goal.
Happy New Year,
Love Elder Nielsen
It has been raining so much here in Worcester that the rivers have overflowed. Below is a path that we normally take to Church. Also below is a picture of my poor bicycle. Enjoy
I hope you all have had a great holiday season. It was a crazy week the week of Christmas so a blog post did not get done. Elder Doty and I have been busy teaching and getting ready for the many travels of the Christmas week and of course setting up Skype times at members homes with our families on Christmas Day. I guess the biggest news and miracle would be that on Sunday, December 22, 2013 I was hit by a car coming home from Church. My companion and I were in a round about when a woman going about 15 to 20 T-boned me. I flew onto the hood of her car and into the windshield and then onto the ground. All I can remember is thinking "this is going to hurt". The Lord has watched over me and after laying on the ground testing all my bones and joints, I got up and started to walk. The Paramedics came as well as the Police and put me in the back of the Ambulance and did an extensive exam. The Paramedics could not believe that there was not one broken bone or cut other than my rain jacket is torn up, on my whole body. The Miracle is that I walked away with no visible injuries other than a torn coat and a very damaged bicycle and of course my pride has been hurt. Since the accident was the fault of the driver, I was given the option of sending the woman to jail or just get what I can for a new bicycle, helmet and jacket. Apparently, in England if you are a foreigner, this gal is from Poland, you can have your drivers license taken away for any accident and you can also be deported. The Mission President and I have decided that it seemed pretty harsh to send her to jail and we are working out the legal issues of getting my bike and other stuff replaced by her insurance company. The first few days afterward my body was pretty sore but I have no brusing to date.
The other great news is that I got to Skype with my family on Christmas! It was great to visit with them for a while. I am sure that my mom was glad to see that there really were not any broken bones, etc. My Companion and I went to midnight Mass on Christmas Eve night which was a great experience and then Christmas Day was spent with some members in our Ward. They fed us and made us feel welcome. We just had fun at members houses all week pretty much with some meeting thrown in there. Another great thing we did was service for some members in our Area. Of course it has been raining and so we were soaked by the time we were finished.
But in England they have Christmas Crackers. Which you and another person pull and whoever has the bigger half gets the prize in the middle. They are pretty fun. They have like dollar store prizes so nothing really worth keeping. The one problem is that as soon as you pull it and win you have to wear the paper crown that comes with it. You look pretty ridiculous that's for sure.
Christmas in England was fun and a memorable one. It was really cool to focus on the Savior more and not all the "tradition" that comes with Christmas. The cool thing that we have talked about was new years goals. And how it is great to have a goal but it is just a wish if we do not plan to do anything about it. In Sacrament Meeting someone spoke on the goals. He Google new year goals and the first one was lose weight. He then said that by the end of January most people stop or quit their goal. If we don't plan we don't finish.
One thing that I have learned on my Mission is how to set goals and make plans to achieve goals. As Steinbeck quoted, "The best laid schemes of mice and men/Often go awry". If we don't plan and prepare and follow through we will not make it to our end goal of Eternal Life.
I hope that you all have goals in mind for this new year and to know our Savior Jesus Christ is part of that goal.
Happy New Year,
Love Elder Nielsen
It has been raining so much here in Worcester that the rivers have overflowed. Below is a path that we normally take to Church. Also below is a picture of my poor bicycle. Enjoy
Friday, December 20, 2013
New Companion, Music, Conference 2013
Happy Christmas season to my friends and family,
This week has been a busy week. We have been all over the place. We had transfers on Wednesday, December 11, 2013. So Elder Gardner and I went to Glouster to pick up my new companion and drop off Elder Gardner. It was quite a long day. Life with my new companion is good. We are getting along really well. He has not been out in the Mission Field much longer than I, so it is nice to not get a companion that is close to going home and is anxious and not wanting to work. His name is Elder Doty and he is from Seattle. My mom has been telling my how cold it has been in Idaho lately and that they missed a day of School because of that, I had to laugh about the to cold to go to school. Here in Worcester, it has been 40-50 degrees and the best news is that it has stopped raining for the last few days, but no promises that the rain will stay away.
Thursday we had a pretty good day. We have been talking to people in the streets most of Thursday. The luck of our Mission is that we have investigators during the transfer but as soon as one of you is transferred out, everyone drops. It is frustrating but I have learned to just deal with it.
Friday was a fun day, we had the Mission Christmas Party. So bright and early at 6:52 in the morning we got on a train to get to Glouster. Then onto a bus at 8:30 for a two hour bus ride to Birmingham. It was worth it in the end. The most spiritual part of that day was when the Mission President told all of us Missionaries how much his wife like the LDS Hymn I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, so all of the Missionaries the Hymn loud and proud. It was pretty cool. The Spirit was really strong and I really enjoyed just belting it out with the others. The Spirit that comes from singing Hymns and praises unto our Savior is very uplifting to me and often brings a tear to my eye. This was one of those times and will be another memorable highlight of my time here in England. It was really fun to see all the Missionaries and to talk to ones that I haven't seen for about 6 months. We had Cafe Rio pulled pork burritos for dinner. That is the first time I have had any type of Mexican food since I have been on my Mission.
I think the best thing that happened this week is we found two Chinese people to teach. I have taught a Chinese person once and that was with a Mandarin speaking Elder. So Elder Doty and I, two guys from the US, went to the library to teach them on Sunday. We walked out of the Library like deer caught in headlights. It was very rough. It was hard because we did not have the Book of Mormon in there language. So note to self that we needed to get one for them by the next lesson. But we will see what happens when we teach them again.
Church was also fun. I got to play the piano in Priesthood and translate in Sign Language the lesson. With two former Elders being transferred, I have become the "head Signer" for the Missionaries in this Area. So pretty much that means I translate everything. I decided this was a great way to become better at Signing, just jump right in and get it done. It wasn't that bad until we got into the lesson. The teacher had decided to talk about parables. I learned a couple of new signs that day like the ten virgins and stuff like that. It is all fun though and a great experience.
I am so thankful for the modern technology. I have the last two General Conferences on my Ipod so I can read the talks or listen to them while riding trains or when I have down time it is right at my finger tips. I am finding that most if not all of the talks in the last General Conference, Oct. 2013, are mostly about Missionary Work. My mom and I have been swapping our favorite talks as we read and listen to them. The Lord is Hastening His Work and needs all of us to be Missionaries. In Doctorine and Covenants Section 4 the Lord tells us how we can be good Missionaries.
1 Now behold, a marvelous time is about to come forth among the children of men.
This week has been a busy week. We have been all over the place. We had transfers on Wednesday, December 11, 2013. So Elder Gardner and I went to Glouster to pick up my new companion and drop off Elder Gardner. It was quite a long day. Life with my new companion is good. We are getting along really well. He has not been out in the Mission Field much longer than I, so it is nice to not get a companion that is close to going home and is anxious and not wanting to work. His name is Elder Doty and he is from Seattle. My mom has been telling my how cold it has been in Idaho lately and that they missed a day of School because of that, I had to laugh about the to cold to go to school. Here in Worcester, it has been 40-50 degrees and the best news is that it has stopped raining for the last few days, but no promises that the rain will stay away.
Thursday we had a pretty good day. We have been talking to people in the streets most of Thursday. The luck of our Mission is that we have investigators during the transfer but as soon as one of you is transferred out, everyone drops. It is frustrating but I have learned to just deal with it.
Friday was a fun day, we had the Mission Christmas Party. So bright and early at 6:52 in the morning we got on a train to get to Glouster. Then onto a bus at 8:30 for a two hour bus ride to Birmingham. It was worth it in the end. The most spiritual part of that day was when the Mission President told all of us Missionaries how much his wife like the LDS Hymn I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, so all of the Missionaries the Hymn loud and proud. It was pretty cool. The Spirit was really strong and I really enjoyed just belting it out with the others. The Spirit that comes from singing Hymns and praises unto our Savior is very uplifting to me and often brings a tear to my eye. This was one of those times and will be another memorable highlight of my time here in England. It was really fun to see all the Missionaries and to talk to ones that I haven't seen for about 6 months. We had Cafe Rio pulled pork burritos for dinner. That is the first time I have had any type of Mexican food since I have been on my Mission.
I think the best thing that happened this week is we found two Chinese people to teach. I have taught a Chinese person once and that was with a Mandarin speaking Elder. So Elder Doty and I, two guys from the US, went to the library to teach them on Sunday. We walked out of the Library like deer caught in headlights. It was very rough. It was hard because we did not have the Book of Mormon in there language. So note to self that we needed to get one for them by the next lesson. But we will see what happens when we teach them again.
Church was also fun. I got to play the piano in Priesthood and translate in Sign Language the lesson. With two former Elders being transferred, I have become the "head Signer" for the Missionaries in this Area. So pretty much that means I translate everything. I decided this was a great way to become better at Signing, just jump right in and get it done. It wasn't that bad until we got into the lesson. The teacher had decided to talk about parables. I learned a couple of new signs that day like the ten virgins and stuff like that. It is all fun though and a great experience.
I am so thankful for the modern technology. I have the last two General Conferences on my Ipod so I can read the talks or listen to them while riding trains or when I have down time it is right at my finger tips. I am finding that most if not all of the talks in the last General Conference, Oct. 2013, are mostly about Missionary Work. My mom and I have been swapping our favorite talks as we read and listen to them. The Lord is Hastening His Work and needs all of us to be Missionaries. In Doctorine and Covenants Section 4 the Lord tells us how we can be good Missionaries.
1 Now behold, a marvelous time is about to come forth among the children of men.
2 Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.
3 Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work;
4 For behold the field is white already to harvest; and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store that he perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to his soul;
5 And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work.
6 Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence.
7 Ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Amen.
Remember that our Savior loves us and has a work for us to do during these latter days. I love this Gospel and all that it teaches. I love our Savior and rejoice in this Christmas season to celebrate Him.
Love, Elder Nielsen
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Hard Work and Service
Hey Family and Friends,
Transfer season is upon us again and the good news is that I will be staying in Worcester, England for another six weeks. I will be getting a new Companion before next week and I will give you all the ins and outs of where he is from and so forth. I have included a few pictures from our Thanksgiving adventure with our District. The first one is of the District Leader hiding up on the ledge of the building. The District Leader is a nut. His job before his Mission was a camera man. He filmed people sky diving. So he is use to being in high places. The second picture is of a Nutella, marshmallow crepe. The crepe was amazing. The marshmallow melted and it was way to good. So much for that, my mouth is watering just thinking about it.
So this past week has been a fun one. We have done a lot of finding and met a lot of cool people. The only sad thing is that none of them want to investigate the Church. They at least have had a positive experience with us and that's all that matters. So later on in the week, w e had a really good lesson with a less active man. He is less active because of choices and his life style. But we talked a lot about how the Book of Mormon can help him. He said that he has a hard time understanding the Book of Mormon. But we promised him that if he tried God would make up the rest.
Another great and fun opportunity we had which is one of Elder Nielsen's favorite things to do is get dirty. I put on my fencing and tree chopping clothes and shoes on and went to work. We helped a member who has just bought a new house in our Area put up a fence. In the deed to the house the new owners have to have a fence around the whole property. So we helped them. It was so much fun. Digging holes and pounding in wooden fence posts. I loved it! I also learned a new skill, moving very old, very heavy pieces of very expensive oak. The previous owner deals in very old wood from very old houses. The earliest wood he buys is 300 years old. It was really fun! I love the feeling of coming home way dirty and just absolutely knackered (which is British slang for very tired). Below is a picture of the property that we were working on as well as a picture of Elder Nielsen sitting on a chair made out of a tree stump.
I have been reading the newest Conference talks from the October 2013 General Conference. I read one by Elder Bednar The Windows of Heaven about tithing that was very good. The principle of the blessing comes when the Lord sees fit to give them applies to everything. It is the whole keep moving forward phrase. So my thought to you is to keep going and it will all work out in the end. That I can promise you.
Have a great week filled with good.
Love, Elder Nielsen
Transfer season is upon us again and the good news is that I will be staying in Worcester, England for another six weeks. I will be getting a new Companion before next week and I will give you all the ins and outs of where he is from and so forth. I have included a few pictures from our Thanksgiving adventure with our District. The first one is of the District Leader hiding up on the ledge of the building. The District Leader is a nut. His job before his Mission was a camera man. He filmed people sky diving. So he is use to being in high places. The second picture is of a Nutella, marshmallow crepe. The crepe was amazing. The marshmallow melted and it was way to good. So much for that, my mouth is watering just thinking about it.
So this past week has been a fun one. We have done a lot of finding and met a lot of cool people. The only sad thing is that none of them want to investigate the Church. They at least have had a positive experience with us and that's all that matters. So later on in the week, w e had a really good lesson with a less active man. He is less active because of choices and his life style. But we talked a lot about how the Book of Mormon can help him. He said that he has a hard time understanding the Book of Mormon. But we promised him that if he tried God would make up the rest.
Another great and fun opportunity we had which is one of Elder Nielsen's favorite things to do is get dirty. I put on my fencing and tree chopping clothes and shoes on and went to work. We helped a member who has just bought a new house in our Area put up a fence. In the deed to the house the new owners have to have a fence around the whole property. So we helped them. It was so much fun. Digging holes and pounding in wooden fence posts. I loved it! I also learned a new skill, moving very old, very heavy pieces of very expensive oak. The previous owner deals in very old wood from very old houses. The earliest wood he buys is 300 years old. It was really fun! I love the feeling of coming home way dirty and just absolutely knackered (which is British slang for very tired). Below is a picture of the property that we were working on as well as a picture of Elder Nielsen sitting on a chair made out of a tree stump.
I have been reading the newest Conference talks from the October 2013 General Conference. I read one by Elder Bednar The Windows of Heaven about tithing that was very good. The principle of the blessing comes when the Lord sees fit to give them applies to everything. It is the whole keep moving forward phrase. So my thought to you is to keep going and it will all work out in the end. That I can promise you.
Have a great week filled with good.
Love, Elder Nielsen
 |
| District Leader |
 |
| Nutella, Marshmallow crepe |
 |
| Members yard that we fenced |
 |
| Elder Nielsen on a cool tree stump |
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Blessings
Happy Thanksgiving.
This week has been a fun one and a quick one. There are times on my Mission that the days and weeks just fly by and others that seem to never end. But anyway, didn't really have anything new happen out of the ordinary, but the one cool thing that happened was on our way to a lesson. We where running late because of some things that happened in the morning with miscommunication. But it is about a twenty minute bike ride to the investigators house. The lesson was at 11:30 and we jumped on our bikes at 11:20. The other draw back from being twenty minuets away is that it is all up hill. As I was riding I was just flying up the hills and such. I felt like I had extra help and someone was pushing me and helping me getting up those large hills of Worcester, England. And the best miracle of all is that we got to the investigators house at 11:35 only five minuets late. We have never made it up there that quick. It was a really cool miracle that happened and we had a great lesson as well.
England does not celebrate Thanksgiving. Usually the Missionaries are invited to Ward members homes that are transplants to England but this year we had Thanksgiving as a District which was fun. Our District Leader cooked it for us and he came up to me and said "Elder Nielsen you look like you have carved a turkey before." So my job was to carve the turkey and pick off the best bits that I like and eat them. Always the plus of carving the turkey, right. But it was really fun to be with the District and celebrate and be thankful. I have grown pretty close to many of the Missionaries here in our District and we had a great day. Even though Thanksgiving wasn't with my "family" it was with my Mission family which will be another great memory of my time spent here.
I have been thinking a lot about blessings and which ones I have seen come to me on my Mission. I had to think really hard to realize them. But then I was sent this poem in an email today and I think it made me realize the blessings that I have been given.
I asked God for strength, that I might achieve.
I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked for health, that I might do greater things.
I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.
I asked for riches, that I might be happy.
I was given poverty, that I might be wise.
I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men.
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life.
I was given life that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I asked for—but everything I had hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am, among all men, most richly blessed.
I am blessed and am grateful for all that our Savior Jesus Christ has given me. I hope that you as well will search daily what blessings have come your way and thank Him for them.
Have a great week.
Love Elder Nielsen
This week has been a fun one and a quick one. There are times on my Mission that the days and weeks just fly by and others that seem to never end. But anyway, didn't really have anything new happen out of the ordinary, but the one cool thing that happened was on our way to a lesson. We where running late because of some things that happened in the morning with miscommunication. But it is about a twenty minute bike ride to the investigators house. The lesson was at 11:30 and we jumped on our bikes at 11:20. The other draw back from being twenty minuets away is that it is all up hill. As I was riding I was just flying up the hills and such. I felt like I had extra help and someone was pushing me and helping me getting up those large hills of Worcester, England. And the best miracle of all is that we got to the investigators house at 11:35 only five minuets late. We have never made it up there that quick. It was a really cool miracle that happened and we had a great lesson as well.
England does not celebrate Thanksgiving. Usually the Missionaries are invited to Ward members homes that are transplants to England but this year we had Thanksgiving as a District which was fun. Our District Leader cooked it for us and he came up to me and said "Elder Nielsen you look like you have carved a turkey before." So my job was to carve the turkey and pick off the best bits that I like and eat them. Always the plus of carving the turkey, right. But it was really fun to be with the District and celebrate and be thankful. I have grown pretty close to many of the Missionaries here in our District and we had a great day. Even though Thanksgiving wasn't with my "family" it was with my Mission family which will be another great memory of my time spent here.
I have been thinking a lot about blessings and which ones I have seen come to me on my Mission. I had to think really hard to realize them. But then I was sent this poem in an email today and I think it made me realize the blessings that I have been given.
I asked God for strength, that I might achieve.
I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked for health, that I might do greater things.
I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.
I asked for riches, that I might be happy.
I was given poverty, that I might be wise.
I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men.
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life.
I was given life that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I asked for—but everything I had hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am, among all men, most richly blessed.
I am blessed and am grateful for all that our Savior Jesus Christ has given me. I hope that you as well will search daily what blessings have come your way and thank Him for them.
Have a great week.
Love Elder Nielsen
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Small Miracles
Hey Family and Friends,
Transfers are December 11, 2013 so it is time to work even harder just in case.
This week has been a fun one. Once a year Missionaries get a list of AUF (address unknown on file) so we get to play detective for a while to find these inactive members or to see what we can find out about them. We have been working daily to find these addresses and member and we stopped by one address and the members had moved. So we tracted the area and found this really cool guy. I was a little taken back by what he said when he answered the door. Just imagine, he answered the door and a little puppy tried to run out. You know how a little puppy makes you feel, it kind of melts you heart, so anyway, he grabbed it because it has not had all the shots yet so it can't go outside (one of the rules of England). But we asked what he what he did for work. He tells us he is a Guide and that the puppy is going to become a gun dog. The look on my face must of been great, anyone who knows me and my brothers know that we love to read about guns and go out shooting on the range, etc. I have never heard anyone here in England say the word gun and that they enjoy hunting. That put a little spark in my step. But we talked to him for a little bit. He said that he wasn't ready to hear the Gospel, but the seed was planted for the next set of Missionaries and I hope that he had a good experience with us though. So that's all that matters.
One of the biggest miracles that happened this week was also a stressful one. I was asked after Priesthood to play the piano in Sacrament Meeting. I said, okay whatever. I was going to skip Sunday School to practice and go over the Hymns so I was at least semi able to play them. But before I could get more than a brief run through of the songs the Ward Mission Leader grabbed us to have a meeting with him. So I just looked at my companion and said "it is going to be fun". But one of the songs I had never heard before. So I took the advice from Sponge Bob Square Pants, "Play as loud as you can so people think you are great". So I played the opening Hymn really loud and fast and did quite well. The sacrament Hymn was okay but it was the intermediate hymn I was worried about. Out of all the book the chorister chose Jesus Savior Pilot Me listen here. The whole Sacrament Meeting I was looking at the music trying to see how to change it to make it easier. It did not help that the Chapel was freezing so my hands where cold. But when the time came I went and was about to play the intro and the music director said we are only singing one verse. I was jumping for joy. But it was a miracle. It turned out really good. My success was not from Sponge Bob but from the Spirit guiding and helping me.
I am thankful for that Spirit that guides me daily in my Missionary experience. I am thankful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am thankful for trials that draw me closer to my Heavenly Father. I am thankful for all of you that pray daily for me and support me.
Have a great Thanksgiving and be grateful for all that you have.
Love Elder Nielsen
send Elder Nielsen a Christmas card to
Flat 9 Sidbury house
3 college street
Worcester
wr1 2lt
Transfers are December 11, 2013 so it is time to work even harder just in case.
This week has been a fun one. Once a year Missionaries get a list of AUF (address unknown on file) so we get to play detective for a while to find these inactive members or to see what we can find out about them. We have been working daily to find these addresses and member and we stopped by one address and the members had moved. So we tracted the area and found this really cool guy. I was a little taken back by what he said when he answered the door. Just imagine, he answered the door and a little puppy tried to run out. You know how a little puppy makes you feel, it kind of melts you heart, so anyway, he grabbed it because it has not had all the shots yet so it can't go outside (one of the rules of England). But we asked what he what he did for work. He tells us he is a Guide and that the puppy is going to become a gun dog. The look on my face must of been great, anyone who knows me and my brothers know that we love to read about guns and go out shooting on the range, etc. I have never heard anyone here in England say the word gun and that they enjoy hunting. That put a little spark in my step. But we talked to him for a little bit. He said that he wasn't ready to hear the Gospel, but the seed was planted for the next set of Missionaries and I hope that he had a good experience with us though. So that's all that matters.
One of the biggest miracles that happened this week was also a stressful one. I was asked after Priesthood to play the piano in Sacrament Meeting. I said, okay whatever. I was going to skip Sunday School to practice and go over the Hymns so I was at least semi able to play them. But before I could get more than a brief run through of the songs the Ward Mission Leader grabbed us to have a meeting with him. So I just looked at my companion and said "it is going to be fun". But one of the songs I had never heard before. So I took the advice from Sponge Bob Square Pants, "Play as loud as you can so people think you are great". So I played the opening Hymn really loud and fast and did quite well. The sacrament Hymn was okay but it was the intermediate hymn I was worried about. Out of all the book the chorister chose Jesus Savior Pilot Me listen here. The whole Sacrament Meeting I was looking at the music trying to see how to change it to make it easier. It did not help that the Chapel was freezing so my hands where cold. But when the time came I went and was about to play the intro and the music director said we are only singing one verse. I was jumping for joy. But it was a miracle. It turned out really good. My success was not from Sponge Bob but from the Spirit guiding and helping me.
I am thankful for that Spirit that guides me daily in my Missionary experience. I am thankful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am thankful for trials that draw me closer to my Heavenly Father. I am thankful for all of you that pray daily for me and support me.
Have a great Thanksgiving and be grateful for all that you have.
Love Elder Nielsen
send Elder Nielsen a Christmas card to
Flat 9 Sidbury house
3 college street
Worcester
wr1 2lt
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Q&A Missionary Life
This week has been a good one.
In answer to a few questions that have been emailed to me.
The weather is not to bad. Maybe 40's or 50's and rain lots of rain. It is supposed to get cold but has not yet and I have been fine. Still wearing short sleeves and just my rain gear. But for those who know me, my temperature gauge runs on the always warm side. Our tracking here in Worcester is all knocking doors, talking to people in the streets, referrals from Ward members and contacting the less active. I am in the Evesham District in the Cheltnam Zone. The most challenging aspect of my Mission has been finding people to teach. As you probably know, I don't like to talk to strangers at their door or on the streets. That has been the biggest hurtle and one I struggle with everyday to get over. The best part of my Mission would have to be the relationship you get with members in the Areas that I have served. I have met many people that have a special place in my heart. I think the only changes that I have made would be in my attitude and level of maturity. When you go out on your own as a servant of God you have to grow up fast. But I think that I have stayed the same in humor and not expressing my true views until I am comfortable with the person. One of my goals is to read the whole Standard Works (Old and New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price) in a year. I am a little over half way done. I just finished Proverbs and have already finished the Book of Mormon and New Testament. I love the study time and what I learn from studying. I still am not used to having a companion, I have always been a very independent person and having someone "tagging" along is not my style.
Not much really happened this week. Just a good busy week. The big news is that on Wednesday we had a Zone Conference. We had it in Rhibwina in Wales. Rhiwbina is a northern suburb of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It used to be a separate village: its core is still locally called "the village" and it has a Welsh village look. So we had to get up at four to get a train at 5:59 in the morning. It was a long day. Elder Dykes spoke to us so it was worth it in the end. He talked about how we are called to work with the spiritually sick people. We need to realize that every ones challenges are different and we need to be prepared for whatever gets thrown at us. Elder Dykes was an ENT. So he kept applying everything back to the human body an how when he starts a surgery he needs to know, to the best of his ability's, what is in there and what can go wrong. But he talked about how we need to be prepared with spiritual instruments and know how to use them. It was a very long day. We where up at four and went to bed at ten that night. But the good thing is that it was a very inspired meeting and one of my favorites so far in the Mission.
I have a friend from Blackfoot that was in the horrible storm in the Philippines. She can't really sleep or eat after the trials she has gone through. Continue to pray for all the Missionaries throughout the world for hearts to be softened to hear the good word of the Gospel and that trials will not be so great that we can't handle them. A former Stake President has said "Missionaries will have experiences on their Mission where nowhere else in their life time they will have. Not all are great, but it is also a time they are close to their Father in Heaven. A time for growing and deepening their faith and trust in the Lord.
Have a great week!
Elder Nielsen
In answer to a few questions that have been emailed to me.
The weather is not to bad. Maybe 40's or 50's and rain lots of rain. It is supposed to get cold but has not yet and I have been fine. Still wearing short sleeves and just my rain gear. But for those who know me, my temperature gauge runs on the always warm side. Our tracking here in Worcester is all knocking doors, talking to people in the streets, referrals from Ward members and contacting the less active. I am in the Evesham District in the Cheltnam Zone. The most challenging aspect of my Mission has been finding people to teach. As you probably know, I don't like to talk to strangers at their door or on the streets. That has been the biggest hurtle and one I struggle with everyday to get over. The best part of my Mission would have to be the relationship you get with members in the Areas that I have served. I have met many people that have a special place in my heart. I think the only changes that I have made would be in my attitude and level of maturity. When you go out on your own as a servant of God you have to grow up fast. But I think that I have stayed the same in humor and not expressing my true views until I am comfortable with the person. One of my goals is to read the whole Standard Works (Old and New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price) in a year. I am a little over half way done. I just finished Proverbs and have already finished the Book of Mormon and New Testament. I love the study time and what I learn from studying. I still am not used to having a companion, I have always been a very independent person and having someone "tagging" along is not my style.
Not much really happened this week. Just a good busy week. The big news is that on Wednesday we had a Zone Conference. We had it in Rhibwina in Wales. Rhiwbina is a northern suburb of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It used to be a separate village: its core is still locally called "the village" and it has a Welsh village look. So we had to get up at four to get a train at 5:59 in the morning. It was a long day. Elder Dykes spoke to us so it was worth it in the end. He talked about how we are called to work with the spiritually sick people. We need to realize that every ones challenges are different and we need to be prepared for whatever gets thrown at us. Elder Dykes was an ENT. So he kept applying everything back to the human body an how when he starts a surgery he needs to know, to the best of his ability's, what is in there and what can go wrong. But he talked about how we need to be prepared with spiritual instruments and know how to use them. It was a very long day. We where up at four and went to bed at ten that night. But the good thing is that it was a very inspired meeting and one of my favorites so far in the Mission.
I have a friend from Blackfoot that was in the horrible storm in the Philippines. She can't really sleep or eat after the trials she has gone through. Continue to pray for all the Missionaries throughout the world for hearts to be softened to hear the good word of the Gospel and that trials will not be so great that we can't handle them. A former Stake President has said "Missionaries will have experiences on their Mission where nowhere else in their life time they will have. Not all are great, but it is also a time they are close to their Father in Heaven. A time for growing and deepening their faith and trust in the Lord.
Have a great week!
Elder Nielsen
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Rain and Opposition
Dear Family and Friends,
This week has been a fun one with plenty of ups and downs. The week started off on Sunday night with an alert that England was to have the worst storm in a long time. We were told by many members not to go out on Monday unless it was absolutely necessary. The great news is that the storm did not even hit Worcester. I awoke to beautiful sunshine and a great day. For the past few weeks though we have had lots of rain. More rain than I have ever experienced, therefore, I had to go do a little bit of shopping. I brought with me from the States one rain jacket. I am now the proud owner of another rain jacket, waterproof pants and shoes and waterproof cover for my back pack. Here in England we have also changed to day light savings time. We changed on the 27 of October so we have had a few weeks to adjust. It now gets dark around 5:00 pm so it makes it hard for us Missionaries when we have late appointments. My Companion Elder Gardner told me that by January it will start to get dark around 3 or 4 in the afternoon. I am not looking forward to that.
The weeks are pretty much the same with the days and routines changing maybe just a little bit. But on Halloween when had to be in the flat at 6. I found that a little ridiculous. Most of England doesn't even celebrate Halloween. So anyway, we had many hours sitting in the flat bored out of our minds. But one good thing that happened earlier in the day is that we had a really good sign lesson. Since transfers were last week we had a Missionary transfer out of the area. There are two teams of Missionaries in Worcester, so the new Missionary was at our sign lesson and we started back at square one. It is funny because for the next two lessons we will go over stuff that we have already learned and then the new Missionaries are expected to catch up. It takes some time to catch up but when you are forced to catch up you learn quick or at least I did.
One thing that happened to us was we where going to contact a less active member that we had been asked to visit by the Ward. And so we left after a dinner appointment to go and visit. So this address was in a way nice area. I felt so out of place. We usually work in the middle and lower class areas and stay away from upper class areas like that. But we had a good discussion, we started the long walk home. We got to a fork in the road and we needed to choose which one to take, one side went uphill the other down hill. So Elder Nielsen, being the smart guy he is, used his brain and assumed that we should go down hill. I kept thinking that we wanted to go home which in my mind was down hill. So, we started down hill and about 45 min later we ended up at the member's house we just left. Long story short don't assume that down hill is down hill. We laughed about it and the extra long journey made our night very fun.
Sunday was a pretty interesting day. In Priesthood we talked about opposition. So the teacher had half of us looked at the story of Jonah Jonah 1 and the other half looked at the story of Esther. You can read about Esther here Ester 1-10 . Me and my companion where put in the group that was looking at Esther along with the deaf members in our Ward. I thought I was going to wet myself watching the member try to sign the story of Esther. I could not have done better but he kept looking at us for help. But it was cool to look at opposition. We can deal with it and face it or we can run to Nineveh and get eaten by a whale as Jonah did. Sometimes we just have to face opposition head on. The one part of Sunday that was hard was Sacrament Meeting. The Elders where on deck to translate in sign. Translating is not really that hard expect when you need to do testimonies. You are supposed to sign them as close as you can. Luckily when I was up I had about five primary children bear their testimony. What a great experience to sign for little children who have great faith and pure testimonies. I found only one to be hard to sign and I had no idea what to do. But it all worked out and it was fun.
I have a great love and testimony for this Gospel and the people that I come in contact and work with daily. I testify of Christ and know that he knows and loves me and wants me to succeed. I know that He will help me, all I have to do it ask.
Thanks for all your prayers and support.
Love, Elder Nielsen
This week has been a fun one with plenty of ups and downs. The week started off on Sunday night with an alert that England was to have the worst storm in a long time. We were told by many members not to go out on Monday unless it was absolutely necessary. The great news is that the storm did not even hit Worcester. I awoke to beautiful sunshine and a great day. For the past few weeks though we have had lots of rain. More rain than I have ever experienced, therefore, I had to go do a little bit of shopping. I brought with me from the States one rain jacket. I am now the proud owner of another rain jacket, waterproof pants and shoes and waterproof cover for my back pack. Here in England we have also changed to day light savings time. We changed on the 27 of October so we have had a few weeks to adjust. It now gets dark around 5:00 pm so it makes it hard for us Missionaries when we have late appointments. My Companion Elder Gardner told me that by January it will start to get dark around 3 or 4 in the afternoon. I am not looking forward to that.
The weeks are pretty much the same with the days and routines changing maybe just a little bit. But on Halloween when had to be in the flat at 6. I found that a little ridiculous. Most of England doesn't even celebrate Halloween. So anyway, we had many hours sitting in the flat bored out of our minds. But one good thing that happened earlier in the day is that we had a really good sign lesson. Since transfers were last week we had a Missionary transfer out of the area. There are two teams of Missionaries in Worcester, so the new Missionary was at our sign lesson and we started back at square one. It is funny because for the next two lessons we will go over stuff that we have already learned and then the new Missionaries are expected to catch up. It takes some time to catch up but when you are forced to catch up you learn quick or at least I did.
One thing that happened to us was we where going to contact a less active member that we had been asked to visit by the Ward. And so we left after a dinner appointment to go and visit. So this address was in a way nice area. I felt so out of place. We usually work in the middle and lower class areas and stay away from upper class areas like that. But we had a good discussion, we started the long walk home. We got to a fork in the road and we needed to choose which one to take, one side went uphill the other down hill. So Elder Nielsen, being the smart guy he is, used his brain and assumed that we should go down hill. I kept thinking that we wanted to go home which in my mind was down hill. So, we started down hill and about 45 min later we ended up at the member's house we just left. Long story short don't assume that down hill is down hill. We laughed about it and the extra long journey made our night very fun.
Sunday was a pretty interesting day. In Priesthood we talked about opposition. So the teacher had half of us looked at the story of Jonah Jonah 1 and the other half looked at the story of Esther. You can read about Esther here Ester 1-10 . Me and my companion where put in the group that was looking at Esther along with the deaf members in our Ward. I thought I was going to wet myself watching the member try to sign the story of Esther. I could not have done better but he kept looking at us for help. But it was cool to look at opposition. We can deal with it and face it or we can run to Nineveh and get eaten by a whale as Jonah did. Sometimes we just have to face opposition head on. The one part of Sunday that was hard was Sacrament Meeting. The Elders where on deck to translate in sign. Translating is not really that hard expect when you need to do testimonies. You are supposed to sign them as close as you can. Luckily when I was up I had about five primary children bear their testimony. What a great experience to sign for little children who have great faith and pure testimonies. I found only one to be hard to sign and I had no idea what to do. But it all worked out and it was fun.
I have a great love and testimony for this Gospel and the people that I come in contact and work with daily. I testify of Christ and know that he knows and loves me and wants me to succeed. I know that He will help me, all I have to do it ask.
Thanks for all your prayers and support.
Love, Elder Nielsen
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Be Lead and Taught by the Spirit
Hey All,
This week has been a fast week. I don't really remember what I did most of the week. But Tuesday was a very fast day. We had transfers this week, so it was time for our flat to be inspected. So we knew that it was time to really get down to some serious scrubbing. The good news is that we passed the inspection which is good. And then later that afternoon, we did some less active work and then taught a lesson. It was a really good lesson and then we went to a dinner appointment. The dinner appointment was really cool. It was with a former mission president. He was the president of the London Mission in the late 1980's and then to top it all off he got home from being a the London Mission President and three weeks later he got a call to be the Temple President of the London Temple. The Spirit he has in his home is incredible and we were blessed to be in his presence and learn from him.
Wednesday we had meetings and I went on exchange with the District Leader. It has been nice to not have to be a District Leader companion as I had been in Kidderminster. I have not had to go on exchange for a long time. But I went to Evesham. It is smaller than Kidderminster but the people are really nice. While I was there we did some service for a member and did some home teaching. It was nice to get to know another Elder and see another part of this beautiful country of England.
Thursday was kind of a mess. We had to catch a train to Great Malvern to go to sign lessons and for a dinner appointment and of course the train was very late. We where just a little bit late. But all went well. We have still been translating Preach my Gospel which is fun and challenging. It is really fun and I am enjoying learning this new skill.
Friday and Saturday where just busy days with teaching and going by less actives. The one thing that was nice was Sunday. We have only had regular church meetings every other week due to Stake Conference and General Conference. I can't tell you how nice it is to be back on our regular Church schedule.
My mom was asking me about the picture of the Lambo I sent last week. She asked why I looked so timid standing next to it. It was on a very narrow street so there was no way I was going to get really close just in case something happened to it. I didn't really want someone coming up to me and asking what I was doing. It was an awesome feeling to be next to a super car that is worth more than a good size house. Some of my favorite food is Curry but I have to cook it or Kabobs. We have a Chinese shop called Yum Yum pretty close to us so to get stuff for Curry is really easy. The Kabobs are tricky because good Kabob shops don't open tell five so it's more of a dinner thing.
Our Mission has been focusing our study on following the Spirit. In Preach My Gospel How do I recognize the Spirit? Below are some thoughts from the discussion I have had via email with my dad.
Consider the following statement by Elder Dallin H. Oaks:
“[A person may have] a strong desire to be led by the Spirit of the Lord but … unwisely extends that desire to the point of wanting to be led in all things. A desire to be led by the Lord is a strength, but it needs to be accompanied by an understanding that our Heavenly Father leaves many decisions for our personal choices. Personal decision making is one of the sources of the growth we are meant to experience in mortality. Persons who try to shift all decision making to the Lord and plead for revelation in every choice will soon find circumstances in which they pray for guidance and don’t receive it. For example, this is likely to occur in those numerous circumstances in which the choices are trivial or either choice is acceptable.
“We should study things out in our minds, using the reasoning powers our Creator has placed within us. Then we should pray for guidance and act upon it if we receive it. If we do not receive guidance, we should act upon our best judgment. Persons who persist in seeking revelatory guidance on subjects on which the Lord has not chosen to direct us may concoct an answer out of their own fantasy or bias, or they may even receive an answer through the medium of false revelation” (“Our Strengths Can Become Our Downfall,” Ensign, Oct. 1994, 13–14).
Earlier in the chapter it talks about the Light of Christ and how it guides you via your conscience. I think that as you are being obedient and making an effort to do what is right and to further the work that you will make good choices based on your prior experiences, the Light of Christ, and a big dose of common sense. It reminds me of the counsel:
D&C 58:26 For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.
There certainly are big things that we should seek the guidance of the Spirit. And there are lots of smaller things on which we probably should be seeking the Spirit but we don't due to our own arrogance. But to seek the Spirit to help you know which route to take to work today probably falls under the category of "you're on your own, it really doesn't matter".
Something to think and study about.
Thanks for all your emails and support. I love this Gospel and the work the Lord has for me to accomplish. The people of England are tough but the Gospel will move forward on this earth.
Love, Elder Nielsen
This week has been a fast week. I don't really remember what I did most of the week. But Tuesday was a very fast day. We had transfers this week, so it was time for our flat to be inspected. So we knew that it was time to really get down to some serious scrubbing. The good news is that we passed the inspection which is good. And then later that afternoon, we did some less active work and then taught a lesson. It was a really good lesson and then we went to a dinner appointment. The dinner appointment was really cool. It was with a former mission president. He was the president of the London Mission in the late 1980's and then to top it all off he got home from being a the London Mission President and three weeks later he got a call to be the Temple President of the London Temple. The Spirit he has in his home is incredible and we were blessed to be in his presence and learn from him.
Wednesday we had meetings and I went on exchange with the District Leader. It has been nice to not have to be a District Leader companion as I had been in Kidderminster. I have not had to go on exchange for a long time. But I went to Evesham. It is smaller than Kidderminster but the people are really nice. While I was there we did some service for a member and did some home teaching. It was nice to get to know another Elder and see another part of this beautiful country of England.
Thursday was kind of a mess. We had to catch a train to Great Malvern to go to sign lessons and for a dinner appointment and of course the train was very late. We where just a little bit late. But all went well. We have still been translating Preach my Gospel which is fun and challenging. It is really fun and I am enjoying learning this new skill.
Friday and Saturday where just busy days with teaching and going by less actives. The one thing that was nice was Sunday. We have only had regular church meetings every other week due to Stake Conference and General Conference. I can't tell you how nice it is to be back on our regular Church schedule.
My mom was asking me about the picture of the Lambo I sent last week. She asked why I looked so timid standing next to it. It was on a very narrow street so there was no way I was going to get really close just in case something happened to it. I didn't really want someone coming up to me and asking what I was doing. It was an awesome feeling to be next to a super car that is worth more than a good size house. Some of my favorite food is Curry but I have to cook it or Kabobs. We have a Chinese shop called Yum Yum pretty close to us so to get stuff for Curry is really easy. The Kabobs are tricky because good Kabob shops don't open tell five so it's more of a dinner thing.
Our Mission has been focusing our study on following the Spirit. In Preach My Gospel How do I recognize the Spirit? Below are some thoughts from the discussion I have had via email with my dad.
Consider the following statement by Elder Dallin H. Oaks:
“[A person may have] a strong desire to be led by the Spirit of the Lord but … unwisely extends that desire to the point of wanting to be led in all things. A desire to be led by the Lord is a strength, but it needs to be accompanied by an understanding that our Heavenly Father leaves many decisions for our personal choices. Personal decision making is one of the sources of the growth we are meant to experience in mortality. Persons who try to shift all decision making to the Lord and plead for revelation in every choice will soon find circumstances in which they pray for guidance and don’t receive it. For example, this is likely to occur in those numerous circumstances in which the choices are trivial or either choice is acceptable.
“We should study things out in our minds, using the reasoning powers our Creator has placed within us. Then we should pray for guidance and act upon it if we receive it. If we do not receive guidance, we should act upon our best judgment. Persons who persist in seeking revelatory guidance on subjects on which the Lord has not chosen to direct us may concoct an answer out of their own fantasy or bias, or they may even receive an answer through the medium of false revelation” (“Our Strengths Can Become Our Downfall,” Ensign, Oct. 1994, 13–14).
Earlier in the chapter it talks about the Light of Christ and how it guides you via your conscience. I think that as you are being obedient and making an effort to do what is right and to further the work that you will make good choices based on your prior experiences, the Light of Christ, and a big dose of common sense. It reminds me of the counsel:
D&C 58:26 For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.
There certainly are big things that we should seek the guidance of the Spirit. And there are lots of smaller things on which we probably should be seeking the Spirit but we don't due to our own arrogance. But to seek the Spirit to help you know which route to take to work today probably falls under the category of "you're on your own, it really doesn't matter".
Something to think and study about.
Thanks for all your emails and support. I love this Gospel and the work the Lord has for me to accomplish. The people of England are tough but the Gospel will move forward on this earth.
Love, Elder Nielsen
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Missionary Work in England
I hope everyone has had a good week.
A little history of Missionary work in England. We don't really teach that much. In my first area Kidderminster, the most we taught was 8 people in the 12 weeks that I was there. But here in Worcester, we teach one to two a week. In the whole Mission of Birmingham we have about 20 or low 30 baptisms. Most of these are students from China or from other places. We see that people that are native to western England are not really interested in religion at all. The members here are so so. They are ether really helpful or want nothing to do with the Missionaries. There are some that try to help but most of them don't but I keep an open mind that through lots of prayer that the Lord will bless us and help us find those that are ready to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
We ride bikes pretty often. Not every day but most days we do some form of riding. There are 2 Temples in England, one in Preston and one in London. I have no idea if I will get to go to the Temple before my time is up. It is up to Area 70 because it is out of the Mission. Last week I mentioned that I had been sick. Around this time of year, I usually get a cold and then it settles in my chest and I end up with bronchitis. Since I know this usually happens, I got a jump on it as soon as the cold started to settle in my chest and visited with a Sister in our Ward that is a Nurse and thank goodness she loves the Missionaries. She recommended some meds for me. England hardly has anything that you can get over the counter. So it took some time to find stuff but it all worked and I am feeling much better.
This week has just been really busy running around trying to get things done since we had a few days of down time the week before with me being sick. Not much really happened Monday other than our regular P-day, and Tuesday we had interviews with President. That was fun with a lot of Missionaries in line waiting to get into the hot seat. But we had a good interview.
Wednesday was a really busy day. We had sign lessons which went pretty good. I am getting better "slowly" but am still improving. We have been working on translating Preach My Gospel and translating talks and such. It is a lot of fun. The member that teaches us has a lot of questions when we read Preach My Gospel. So it turns into us trying to explain things to him in sign. Which is good. Because it gives us good practice at signing and answering his questions makes us rely on the spirit to give him correct information about the Gospel. After that, we where just running around to a District appointment and a lesson then on to football. We play football with the Ward every Wednesday night. But this Wednesday, the game got a little out of hand. It seemed like all the Missionaries had some rage penned up that needed to get out. So it was a physical game and it helped that they split the Missionaries up on different teams. But it was a very good game and everyone went home with out any injuries and tired.
On Thursdays we get together with the other team of Missionaries in our Ward and practice our sign Language. We try our best but we usually can't agree what the sign is for a certain word. Two Missionaries have one idea and the other one thinks it is a different sign. So then it's up to the other to decide which one it is. So that always turns out pretty fun because there is lots of discussion and laughter. But in the end it was a pretty normal day. We had dinner with a family and played UNO and to say the least, Elder Nielsen didn't bring his card game playing from the States. I averaged about a hundred points against me a hand. I know that I can do better than that. But it was fun.
Friday was when I saw the cars! I am a car junky. Not just any cars, but the expensive cars that are made in Europe and Germany. Before my Mission, I watched extreme car shows looked at extreme car magazines and sites. I could and can tell you the name of certain cars what type of engine it has and how much it costs. So, we were up in our Flat planning for next week and I looked out the window and saw the Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4!! It was black and slick looking. I was really excited so I ran down stairs and took pictures of it (picture below with Elder Nielsen in his P-day clothes). The other pictures is of just an Audi R8 nothing to special. So after that excitement, we had a DA clear out in the sticks. It took about thirty minutes to cycle there. After dinner we stayed and talked and then cycled back in the dark. But I did have a miracle happen. When we left the dinner appointment, the lights on my bike did not work. It was pitch black so I said a prayer and just kept riding hoping that I would not fall in a pot hole or run over something or even worse get run over and all of a sudden, the lights turned on. It would have been bad if I didn't have lights.
But the high light of the week was Sunday. We had Stake Conference and the Presidency was getting reorganized. We had Elders De Feo and Dyches come to our meeting. They are in the Europe Area Presidency. They both gave some great talks. Elder De Feo talked about how we need to start with what we do have and not what we don't. He talked about 2 Kings Chapter 4 where the a widow comes to Elijah and says I have debts and the collectors are going to come and take my sons and sell them for the money. And Elijah says okay what do you have? The women says I have nothing except a bit of oil. He then says get all the empty containers you have and fill them up. She does this and then is commanded to go and sell. His point was that we need to give the Lord what we can and he will do the rest. Elder Dyches spoke at General Conference this year. He talked about how Penicillin was discovered. And how it is built on a five sided shape called Thiazolidine Ring that helps it keep its structure. He then tells us to find five things to center our lives on like Scriptures, Church, Temple, Family, Faith, or Prayer. But I must admit I was running through my biology lessons and human anatomy trying to figure out what he was talking about. It was a great Sunday full of enlightenment and learning for me.
I am finding joy in my Mission here in England. As with most Missionaries I have my ups and downs but the Lord is always with me and blesses me when I am humble enough to ask and listen. I love this Gospel and the Lord and have a testimony of its truthfulness. May you be blessed this next week in all that you do.
Love,
Elder Nielsen
 | |
| I have found what I want for Christmas. A Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 base price £253,200 or $409475.04 |
 |
| Then just an Audi R8 |
Thursday, October 17, 2013
The Lord will open the way
Hey all,
This past week has been a rough week to say the least. Monday was P-day so after emailing and shopping Elder Gardner and I both ended up chilling and studying the rest of the day. We where getting ready to teach a lesson that we had later that night with a family we found about a week ago. But as we where getting ready to head to the lesson, we got a text saying they didn't want us to come over. So we went to dinner at a member's house. The member needed to have a bon fire to burn some stuff, so Elder Gardner and I and the other set of Elders that were with us had a bon fire in our Missionary clothes. I am sure that our mothers would not have approved, but it was really fun.
Tuesday we had a Zone Meeting. We left pretty early to get to Gloucester. We normally have the Zone Meetings in Cheltnam but this week it was in Gloucester because of a Mission trip that the Mission President had planned later in the week. It had been a while since anyone had been to the Chapel in Gloucester so long story short, you guessed it, we got lost and were about an hour late to the Meeting. Later that evening as we planned our return trip back to Worcester, we discovered that the farther from Birmingham you get the trains don't come as often. We had about a two hour wait at the train station to get home. But this gave us time to visit with people while we wait.
Wednesday I woke up sick so we spent most of the day inside studying and watching the bits of General Conference that we missed. Later that evening, we went to our Sign Language lessons and we ended up taking turns signing Preach My Gospel! We did a whole chapter under the very watchful eye of the member that teaches us. It was fun and nerve racking at the same time. At 4:15 we left to catch the train back to Worcester so that we would have time to walk to a dinner appointment we had. Just our luck we missed the train so we where 30 minuets late to the dinner appointment which in turn made us about an hour late to our lesson after that. The good that came out of all the bad that happened this day is that we got a new investigator! The gal that we are now teaching, we teach her 19 year old son and she let us know that she wants to be taught as well! So blessing in disguise. Happy day.
Thursday we just hung around the flat trying to get some rest so I could get better.
Friday was a Mission trip. We went to Bembo Farms and Gadfield Elm. Bembo Farms is where one of the Apostles baptized the United Brethren. Historical information about Bembo Farms and Gadfield Elm . So we had fun looking around and looking at the pond that was dug to be a font. Gadfield Elm is the oldest Chapel the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints has. It was a really cool Chapel. It has been visited by three Prophets and countless members of the Quorum of the Twelve. It was really cool. Afterward we went to Gloucester to have lunch and play games. There where only 3 Zones out of the 7 Zones of Missionaries that were able to attend. It was nice to get with the other Zones and have this experience. So our luck ran out when we headed back to the train station to get on the train back to Worcester and we had an hour wait. No big deal until when the train came it was immediately canceled because of mechanical problems. So we waited for a little bit for another train. Long story short, we left from home at 3:30 am and got home at 8:30 pm. Long day.
Saturday we had a planning session and some service projects that we have been working on. We finished painting a member's family room. I don't mind painting, but not my favorite I will be a professional by the time this is finished. It has been a hard/discouraging week but we have received lots of blessings. The Lord will make a way out of no way I have found this week. We where running late the whole week but he blessed us because of our efforts.
Have a great week! Remember the Lord loves you!
Elder Nielsen
This past week has been a rough week to say the least. Monday was P-day so after emailing and shopping Elder Gardner and I both ended up chilling and studying the rest of the day. We where getting ready to teach a lesson that we had later that night with a family we found about a week ago. But as we where getting ready to head to the lesson, we got a text saying they didn't want us to come over. So we went to dinner at a member's house. The member needed to have a bon fire to burn some stuff, so Elder Gardner and I and the other set of Elders that were with us had a bon fire in our Missionary clothes. I am sure that our mothers would not have approved, but it was really fun.
Tuesday we had a Zone Meeting. We left pretty early to get to Gloucester. We normally have the Zone Meetings in Cheltnam but this week it was in Gloucester because of a Mission trip that the Mission President had planned later in the week. It had been a while since anyone had been to the Chapel in Gloucester so long story short, you guessed it, we got lost and were about an hour late to the Meeting. Later that evening as we planned our return trip back to Worcester, we discovered that the farther from Birmingham you get the trains don't come as often. We had about a two hour wait at the train station to get home. But this gave us time to visit with people while we wait.
Wednesday I woke up sick so we spent most of the day inside studying and watching the bits of General Conference that we missed. Later that evening, we went to our Sign Language lessons and we ended up taking turns signing Preach My Gospel! We did a whole chapter under the very watchful eye of the member that teaches us. It was fun and nerve racking at the same time. At 4:15 we left to catch the train back to Worcester so that we would have time to walk to a dinner appointment we had. Just our luck we missed the train so we where 30 minuets late to the dinner appointment which in turn made us about an hour late to our lesson after that. The good that came out of all the bad that happened this day is that we got a new investigator! The gal that we are now teaching, we teach her 19 year old son and she let us know that she wants to be taught as well! So blessing in disguise. Happy day.
Thursday we just hung around the flat trying to get some rest so I could get better.
Friday was a Mission trip. We went to Bembo Farms and Gadfield Elm. Bembo Farms is where one of the Apostles baptized the United Brethren. Historical information about Bembo Farms and Gadfield Elm . So we had fun looking around and looking at the pond that was dug to be a font. Gadfield Elm is the oldest Chapel the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints has. It was a really cool Chapel. It has been visited by three Prophets and countless members of the Quorum of the Twelve. It was really cool. Afterward we went to Gloucester to have lunch and play games. There where only 3 Zones out of the 7 Zones of Missionaries that were able to attend. It was nice to get with the other Zones and have this experience. So our luck ran out when we headed back to the train station to get on the train back to Worcester and we had an hour wait. No big deal until when the train came it was immediately canceled because of mechanical problems. So we waited for a little bit for another train. Long story short, we left from home at 3:30 am and got home at 8:30 pm. Long day.
Saturday we had a planning session and some service projects that we have been working on. We finished painting a member's family room. I don't mind painting, but not my favorite I will be a professional by the time this is finished. It has been a hard/discouraging week but we have received lots of blessings. The Lord will make a way out of no way I have found this week. We where running late the whole week but he blessed us because of our efforts.
Have a great week! Remember the Lord loves you!
Elder Nielsen
 |
| Pond that was dug for baptism |
 |
| Gadfield Chapel |
 |
| Elder Nielsen looking a little green in the cheeks, still not feeling well |
 |
| Gadfield Chapel |
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Great Weekend
Hey Everyone,
What a great weekend. I have been spiritually recharged by conference. We watched Conference at the library here in Worcester on line which was a cool experience. But all I can say is I can't wait to be able to study the talks when they are printed. My favorite part was the Sunday morning session. I did not get to see Sunday night but when President Monson got up and said "this Conference has been the most spiritual conference I have been to in 50 years" was powerful.
Last week I mentioned that we have 270 new Missionaries in the Birmingham Mission and by December we are going to be "topped off" at 300. The rumor is that we are the biggest Mission in Europe and will be for a while.
This week has been pretty normal. We have had meetings and with Conference being this weekend most of our time was gone. But I had a really cool experience this week. I was on work overs with the Zone Leaders. Which is where I go with one zone leader and my companion goes with the other companion. The Zone Leaders come every once in a while to see how we are doing and to get to know us better. But we went down to the bottom of our Area and went by a less active members home. After that we still had time so we knocked doors. We had knocked on a couple when we knocked and a man answered. He wouldn't open the door very wide because he didn't want his dog to come out and get us. This is pretty common over here. But we where talking to him and having a really good conversation, when all of a sudden this lady pulls up and looks at us for about five minuets. She then comes up and tells us that if we don't leave now and quite harassing this man she will call the police. So we left just to not cause trouble. We kept knocking and started to talk to a women a few doors down who seemed pretty interested. But while we were talking to her we saw a car come around the corner pretty fast. We recognized the person in the car to be the man that we had just been talking to, when he sees us he stops and comes up to us and apologizes to us. Turns out the women who was yelling at us was his sons soon to be mother in law. And the man just said "I tell her to not act like that all the time. But she is just a witch." We where so stunned by what happened we called it a day.
I have really had my eyes opened lately to the devastation of divorced families. I have worked with people that have had horrible family lives so I have seen all the problems that come with that. We have part member right now that we are visiting with that was abused physically, mentally, and emotionally by his dad. I have waded through the crap so to say. And the people we are teaching now are both divorced. It's really sad how Satan is really tearing families apart. I guess I have the understanding of a old man when it comes to family problems like that. Just when I think I have heard it all, something new comes up.
We have had the opportunity to listen to the Prophet and Apostles. I hope you realize that if the claim we have to having a Prophet on the earth is true. Which it is. We should be studding the talks day and night. We are the only Church that has a living Prophet. Listen to him. Support him and take his advice and warnings to heart. You will be blessed. I can promise you that listening to the Prophet, President Thomas S. Monson will only bring good things. God loves us so much that he calls a man just to show how much he loves us. I would like to strongly recommend studying the talks from Conference, study your scriptures and love your fellow man.
As my mom says, keep smiling and be obedient and you will be blessed.
Love Elder Nielsen
What a great weekend. I have been spiritually recharged by conference. We watched Conference at the library here in Worcester on line which was a cool experience. But all I can say is I can't wait to be able to study the talks when they are printed. My favorite part was the Sunday morning session. I did not get to see Sunday night but when President Monson got up and said "this Conference has been the most spiritual conference I have been to in 50 years" was powerful.
Last week I mentioned that we have 270 new Missionaries in the Birmingham Mission and by December we are going to be "topped off" at 300. The rumor is that we are the biggest Mission in Europe and will be for a while.
This week has been pretty normal. We have had meetings and with Conference being this weekend most of our time was gone. But I had a really cool experience this week. I was on work overs with the Zone Leaders. Which is where I go with one zone leader and my companion goes with the other companion. The Zone Leaders come every once in a while to see how we are doing and to get to know us better. But we went down to the bottom of our Area and went by a less active members home. After that we still had time so we knocked doors. We had knocked on a couple when we knocked and a man answered. He wouldn't open the door very wide because he didn't want his dog to come out and get us. This is pretty common over here. But we where talking to him and having a really good conversation, when all of a sudden this lady pulls up and looks at us for about five minuets. She then comes up and tells us that if we don't leave now and quite harassing this man she will call the police. So we left just to not cause trouble. We kept knocking and started to talk to a women a few doors down who seemed pretty interested. But while we were talking to her we saw a car come around the corner pretty fast. We recognized the person in the car to be the man that we had just been talking to, when he sees us he stops and comes up to us and apologizes to us. Turns out the women who was yelling at us was his sons soon to be mother in law. And the man just said "I tell her to not act like that all the time. But she is just a witch." We where so stunned by what happened we called it a day.
I have really had my eyes opened lately to the devastation of divorced families. I have worked with people that have had horrible family lives so I have seen all the problems that come with that. We have part member right now that we are visiting with that was abused physically, mentally, and emotionally by his dad. I have waded through the crap so to say. And the people we are teaching now are both divorced. It's really sad how Satan is really tearing families apart. I guess I have the understanding of a old man when it comes to family problems like that. Just when I think I have heard it all, something new comes up.
We have had the opportunity to listen to the Prophet and Apostles. I hope you realize that if the claim we have to having a Prophet on the earth is true. Which it is. We should be studding the talks day and night. We are the only Church that has a living Prophet. Listen to him. Support him and take his advice and warnings to heart. You will be blessed. I can promise you that listening to the Prophet, President Thomas S. Monson will only bring good things. God loves us so much that he calls a man just to show how much he loves us. I would like to strongly recommend studying the talks from Conference, study your scriptures and love your fellow man.
As my mom says, keep smiling and be obedient and you will be blessed.
Love Elder Nielsen
 |
| Elder Nielsen & Elder Gardener watching General Conference Oct 2013 |
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Hastening the Work of Salvation
Hey Everyone!
Just a bit of information about my new companion, Elder Gardner. Elder Gardner is from Kent England which is right outside of London about a thirty minute train ride from Kent to London. He has been out serving for 18 months or so. My mom had asked about the cleanliness of myself and my companions, so here is the truth for good or bad. The flats we have kept pretty clean. Elder Davis, my first companion, was good about picking up his things but not doing his dishes. Elder Larsen my next companion was really good at keeping the bathroom and bedroom clean and mold free. But was horrid at picking things up anywhere else in the flat. I have not had to many OCD cleaning moments maybe once a month. Elder Gardner and I keep a pretty clean flat. I can stand a little clutter but after a little bit I go and clean for a couple hours. I always try to leave the flat spotless when we leave for the day, but the mold in the bathroom is bad over here. But I am always on top of it getting it off and bleaching it right away.
Well on to this past week, it has been a fun one. Tuesday started off pretty slow. We had a appointment with an investigator. So we walked all the way up to his place and when we got there, there was a note on the door canceling. So that pretty much messed up the rest of the day. In England, we can't track before noon or do any finding. People get very mad when you knock on their door before noon. So we passed out fliers for a charity event that was being held at the Church. The member running the event wanted us to go in service cloths and no tags. It was a coffee morning. We where not quite sure if we should go with no tags but as we looked more closely at the flier it had coffee on it so no tags it was.
Wednesday we had District Meeting. We have it in Evesham. The cool thing was that President decided to show up to this one. It was a very good meeting and we talked about how if we are bold committing people to do things we can have more success. It was a really cool thing to hear. We also had Ward football. Once a week the Ward rents a hall that we play indoor football in. I can't remember the last time I played football, maybe my 9th grade year in school. But I scored many goals.
Thursday was some stopped by some people that we have been working with and then headed sign language lessons. The lesson went really good. I am slowly but surely getting the hang of signing. But at the end of the lesson the man teaching it picked me, Elder Nielsen, to say the closing prayer. I was a little scared to say the least. So I started to sign the prayer and completely messed up so I started again. Signing a prayer is really hard. You have to think about what you want to say. Then say it while you are trying to figure out the sign for the words you are saying. Probably one of the shortest prayers I have given in a long time.
Friday was just planning for the rest of the week and going to the charity event.
Saturday was a fun day. We have a list of less active members that we have been asked to visit see if they are still living at that address and if they are interested in returning to Church. We did that most of the morning and then we had a Ward party. We played some different quiz games. The first quiz was movie still. We saw a picture of a scene from a movie and had to name the movie and if you could the year. The Elders where really good at that portion of the game. The next portion of the game was a "general" knowledge quiz. It was NOT a general knowledge quiz to this American. We were shone a picture of an event and we had to know who, where, why, and the date of the event. I knew none of them. But learned a lot and had a great time.
Sunday was Church. The Missionaries did the lesson because it was 5th Sunday. We did a lesson on the Work of Salvation broadcast. It went really well. We had many members say they where going to go home and watch the broadcast on lds.org. Link here Hastening the Work and Salvation. But it was a good Sunday.
We have been talking about Magnifying our Callings and have had many discussions. As Missionaries at the end of the day we feel like we should have done more. But I guess at the end of the day the Lord knows what we have done and what we still need to do. So I guess that the whole thing about magnifying our callings is to realize that we are going to fall short of the mark and try our best to do the best that we can do. That has been one of the things that I have had to work on. I can be a little OCD about things and I have realized that some days are worse than others. In Preach My Gospel it talks about how we should rely on the Spirit. And then turns around and says that to have the desire to be lead by the Spirit all the time is unrighteous. One thing I have learned about the Spirit is that most of the time just doing what we naturally would do is the Spirit guiding us to some degree. President Hinckley said that "after all is said and done if it persuaded you to be better or the outcome was good it is the Spirit".
I come to love this Gospel more every day as I study and try to tell people about it. Have a great week.
Love,
Elder Nielsen
Just a bit of information about my new companion, Elder Gardner. Elder Gardner is from Kent England which is right outside of London about a thirty minute train ride from Kent to London. He has been out serving for 18 months or so. My mom had asked about the cleanliness of myself and my companions, so here is the truth for good or bad. The flats we have kept pretty clean. Elder Davis, my first companion, was good about picking up his things but not doing his dishes. Elder Larsen my next companion was really good at keeping the bathroom and bedroom clean and mold free. But was horrid at picking things up anywhere else in the flat. I have not had to many OCD cleaning moments maybe once a month. Elder Gardner and I keep a pretty clean flat. I can stand a little clutter but after a little bit I go and clean for a couple hours. I always try to leave the flat spotless when we leave for the day, but the mold in the bathroom is bad over here. But I am always on top of it getting it off and bleaching it right away.
Well on to this past week, it has been a fun one. Tuesday started off pretty slow. We had a appointment with an investigator. So we walked all the way up to his place and when we got there, there was a note on the door canceling. So that pretty much messed up the rest of the day. In England, we can't track before noon or do any finding. People get very mad when you knock on their door before noon. So we passed out fliers for a charity event that was being held at the Church. The member running the event wanted us to go in service cloths and no tags. It was a coffee morning. We where not quite sure if we should go with no tags but as we looked more closely at the flier it had coffee on it so no tags it was.
Wednesday we had District Meeting. We have it in Evesham. The cool thing was that President decided to show up to this one. It was a very good meeting and we talked about how if we are bold committing people to do things we can have more success. It was a really cool thing to hear. We also had Ward football. Once a week the Ward rents a hall that we play indoor football in. I can't remember the last time I played football, maybe my 9th grade year in school. But I scored many goals.
Thursday was some stopped by some people that we have been working with and then headed sign language lessons. The lesson went really good. I am slowly but surely getting the hang of signing. But at the end of the lesson the man teaching it picked me, Elder Nielsen, to say the closing prayer. I was a little scared to say the least. So I started to sign the prayer and completely messed up so I started again. Signing a prayer is really hard. You have to think about what you want to say. Then say it while you are trying to figure out the sign for the words you are saying. Probably one of the shortest prayers I have given in a long time.
Friday was just planning for the rest of the week and going to the charity event.
Saturday was a fun day. We have a list of less active members that we have been asked to visit see if they are still living at that address and if they are interested in returning to Church. We did that most of the morning and then we had a Ward party. We played some different quiz games. The first quiz was movie still. We saw a picture of a scene from a movie and had to name the movie and if you could the year. The Elders where really good at that portion of the game. The next portion of the game was a "general" knowledge quiz. It was NOT a general knowledge quiz to this American. We were shone a picture of an event and we had to know who, where, why, and the date of the event. I knew none of them. But learned a lot and had a great time.
Sunday was Church. The Missionaries did the lesson because it was 5th Sunday. We did a lesson on the Work of Salvation broadcast. It went really well. We had many members say they where going to go home and watch the broadcast on lds.org. Link here Hastening the Work and Salvation. But it was a good Sunday.
We have been talking about Magnifying our Callings and have had many discussions. As Missionaries at the end of the day we feel like we should have done more. But I guess at the end of the day the Lord knows what we have done and what we still need to do. So I guess that the whole thing about magnifying our callings is to realize that we are going to fall short of the mark and try our best to do the best that we can do. That has been one of the things that I have had to work on. I can be a little OCD about things and I have realized that some days are worse than others. In Preach My Gospel it talks about how we should rely on the Spirit. And then turns around and says that to have the desire to be lead by the Spirit all the time is unrighteous. One thing I have learned about the Spirit is that most of the time just doing what we naturally would do is the Spirit guiding us to some degree. President Hinckley said that "after all is said and done if it persuaded you to be better or the outcome was good it is the Spirit".
I come to love this Gospel more every day as I study and try to tell people about it. Have a great week.
Love,
Elder Nielsen
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Adventures and learning sign language
Hey everyone!
This week has been a slow one that is for sure. Monday was the dreaded dodge call. And the news came in that I was leaving Kidderminster. It was a shock to both me and my companion, Elder Larsen. We both thought for sure we would have one more transfer together. But water under the bridge. I moved to Worcester. It is pronounced Wooster or Wusta like I mentioned last week. The spelling over here is really cool. The names of the places in Wales are worse then England. Worcester is bigger than Kidderminster. It is a City and to be considered a City it has to have a Cathedral or some paper from the Queen stating that it is a City. But it is double to triple the size of Kiddy. We have two sets of Missionaries here so pretty big. But that was pretty much Monday.
Tuesday had been a very busy day. Since I was leaving Kiddy, I packed for a couple of hours and then said goodbye to the people in the Branch and got things ready for the new Elder that was coming in to Kidderminster. Tuesday night is a bitter sweet moment for Missionaries when we are transferred. We gain so many friendships with the people that we work with it is hard to move on. We went to the store and bought pizza, garlic bread, Oreo, and Reese's. We pretty much had one last parting meal as companions. It was really fun.
Wednesday was travel all day. Elder Larson and I jumped on the train with my bags and bike. Traveled to Birmingham Moore Street. Where we met some other Elders at Birmingham New Street and this is where Elder Larsen and I went our different ways. I jumped on a train to the Mission Home with another Elder and Elder Larsen went back to Kidderminster with his new companion. I traveled to the Mission Home and jumped on a coach (charter bus) and traveled down to Glouster. There I met my new companion and road the train up to Worcester. If you look at a map that was the wrong way to do it. I could have trained from Kidderminster to Worcester in about twenty minutes. But whatever.
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday was pretty much just salvage what was left of the week with visits and getting to know the new area that I am in. The one cool thing that happened is that I get to learn a language in this area.! The Ward that I am serving in has a couple of deaf people. So once a week the Elders learn British Sign Language. Can you believe it! It was quite a shock. But the cool thing is that the Elders sign the Sacrament Prayer and try (you see I wrote the word try) to sign the rest of the meetings. There are two members who can sign but the Elders are back up.
Today, Monday, we started our p-day at about 8 a.m. in the morning. There is an area called Great Malvern. It has a set of hills that inspired the author Tolkien for areas in the book Lord of the Rings. The area is the White Mountains. So we hiked all the way up to the top hoping that the fog was going to lift. So we hiked and got to the top and the fog didn't lift. It was cool and humid but was a fun hike to get to see some of the beautiful areas of England. There are many natural springs that you can drink from on our hike. But only one is "safe". I say "safe" because the City looks after and takes care of it. I bet we could have gotten water from the other springs but the sign strongly recommended that we boil the water before drinking, so I didn't chance getting something that would put me on my butt (or my butt on the John) so I passed on that. HA HA
The High counselor for our Ward spoke on Sunday about building Zion. He talked about what Zion should be and how we can build it. It was a very good talk. He said that Zion can be achieved with obedience to commandments and keeping covenants. He said that he felt like there is a Zion built in the MTC (Mission Training Center) because of the unity that the Elders and Sisters have. So we need to build where we stand. We shouldn't think that moving to a different area or a new Ward will help build Zion. We need to build unity where we are now in our own Wards, Stakes and neighborhoods.
It has been a good week full of new experiences in a new area, Ward, companion but still the wonderful people of England. I love my Mission, this Gospel and the people that I am surrounded with.
Make it a great week!
Elder Nielsen
Below are some pictures from my p-day of the White Mountains in the City, Great Malvern.
This week has been a slow one that is for sure. Monday was the dreaded dodge call. And the news came in that I was leaving Kidderminster. It was a shock to both me and my companion, Elder Larsen. We both thought for sure we would have one more transfer together. But water under the bridge. I moved to Worcester. It is pronounced Wooster or Wusta like I mentioned last week. The spelling over here is really cool. The names of the places in Wales are worse then England. Worcester is bigger than Kidderminster. It is a City and to be considered a City it has to have a Cathedral or some paper from the Queen stating that it is a City. But it is double to triple the size of Kiddy. We have two sets of Missionaries here so pretty big. But that was pretty much Monday.
Tuesday had been a very busy day. Since I was leaving Kiddy, I packed for a couple of hours and then said goodbye to the people in the Branch and got things ready for the new Elder that was coming in to Kidderminster. Tuesday night is a bitter sweet moment for Missionaries when we are transferred. We gain so many friendships with the people that we work with it is hard to move on. We went to the store and bought pizza, garlic bread, Oreo, and Reese's. We pretty much had one last parting meal as companions. It was really fun.
Wednesday was travel all day. Elder Larson and I jumped on the train with my bags and bike. Traveled to Birmingham Moore Street. Where we met some other Elders at Birmingham New Street and this is where Elder Larsen and I went our different ways. I jumped on a train to the Mission Home with another Elder and Elder Larsen went back to Kidderminster with his new companion. I traveled to the Mission Home and jumped on a coach (charter bus) and traveled down to Glouster. There I met my new companion and road the train up to Worcester. If you look at a map that was the wrong way to do it. I could have trained from Kidderminster to Worcester in about twenty minutes. But whatever.
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday was pretty much just salvage what was left of the week with visits and getting to know the new area that I am in. The one cool thing that happened is that I get to learn a language in this area.! The Ward that I am serving in has a couple of deaf people. So once a week the Elders learn British Sign Language. Can you believe it! It was quite a shock. But the cool thing is that the Elders sign the Sacrament Prayer and try (you see I wrote the word try) to sign the rest of the meetings. There are two members who can sign but the Elders are back up.
Today, Monday, we started our p-day at about 8 a.m. in the morning. There is an area called Great Malvern. It has a set of hills that inspired the author Tolkien for areas in the book Lord of the Rings. The area is the White Mountains. So we hiked all the way up to the top hoping that the fog was going to lift. So we hiked and got to the top and the fog didn't lift. It was cool and humid but was a fun hike to get to see some of the beautiful areas of England. There are many natural springs that you can drink from on our hike. But only one is "safe". I say "safe" because the City looks after and takes care of it. I bet we could have gotten water from the other springs but the sign strongly recommended that we boil the water before drinking, so I didn't chance getting something that would put me on my butt (or my butt on the John) so I passed on that. HA HA
The High counselor for our Ward spoke on Sunday about building Zion. He talked about what Zion should be and how we can build it. It was a very good talk. He said that Zion can be achieved with obedience to commandments and keeping covenants. He said that he felt like there is a Zion built in the MTC (Mission Training Center) because of the unity that the Elders and Sisters have. So we need to build where we stand. We shouldn't think that moving to a different area or a new Ward will help build Zion. We need to build unity where we are now in our own Wards, Stakes and neighborhoods.
It has been a good week full of new experiences in a new area, Ward, companion but still the wonderful people of England. I love my Mission, this Gospel and the people that I am surrounded with.
Make it a great week!
Elder Nielsen
Below are some pictures from my p-day of the White Mountains in the City, Great Malvern.
 |
| Elder Nielsen |
 |
| Elders of Worcester on p-day |
 |
| Elder Nielsen's new companion Elder Gardener |
 |
| The only "safe" fresh water spring |
 |
| Elder Larsen and Elder Nielsen last day as companions |
 |
| tree in the White Mountains |
 |
| City of Great Malvern |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)